The Reptile's Revenge
by Fegerrific
Summary: Leapin' lizards! A terrifying lizard-man is on the loose, attacking anyone and everyone in its path. And to make matters worse, it's captured Shaggy, too! It's up to Mystery Incorporated to stop this rotten reptile and save their friend before it's too late! Suggested by CullenLover9
1. Lovers' Lane

With a screech of brakes and a spray of gravel, a young man parked his sleek black car on the side of the road near the outskirts of a dark, gloomy swamp. He turned to his girlfriend in the front seat. "Well, beautiful, what do you think?"

The girl surveyed the surrounding area with disdain. "Well, it certainly is…deserted. And dark. I thought we were going to the movies."

With a fake yawn, the young man placed an arm around his girl's shoulders. "Trust me, this is better." He leaned over to press his lips against hers, but a loud shriek made him stop. "What the…?"

Without warning, something very large and heavy slammed into the side of the car, causing the lovebirds to scream in terror. A terrifying screech of metal-on-metal echoed through the swamp as three sharp claws poked through the car's door, brutally slicing through the metal like it was paper!

"Drive! DRIVE!" the girl screeched loudly as the mysterious beast continued its assault on the car.

With shaking fingers, the young man inserted the key, only to have the engine cough and sputter helplessly. "C'mon! Come on, baby!" he urged, turning the key one more time. As the vicious creature clawed at the windshield, leaving a spiderweb of cracks, the car finally sputtered to life and sped away, leaving the beast roaring in the distance.


	2. Number Crunching

**(A/N: Okay, I'm intrigued by the suggestions I'm receiving. Let's see what we can do...)**

Scooby and Shaggy, in the middle of a heated debate, sat in the lobby of the Mystery Incorporated headquarters. "Well, Scoob, what do you think?" Shaggy asked his pet.

Scooby thought for a moment. "Rifty-rhee!"

Shaggy recoiled in shock. "Fifty-three?! No way! I say, like, forty-five."

"Ret's rind rout."

Shaggy stood up and strode over to the desk to pick up a bag of potato chips. "You're right, Scoob, let's settle this once and for all." He popped open the bag with a rustle of cellophane before tossing a chip into his mouth with a satisfying crunch. "One…two…three…"

Scooby dug his paw into the bag as well. "Rhour…Rive…Rix…Reven…"

As the pair continued counting their chips, Velma entered the room and stopped suddenly at the strangeness of the scene. "What are you two doing?"

Scooby and Shaggy looked up, their mouths smeared with salt and grease. "Just some number crunching," Shaggy replied between bites. "Like, ten…eleven…twelve."

"Any particular reason…why?"

"Scoob and I have a debate going to see how many chips are in a bag. Now shhh. You're going to make us lose count. Fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…"

"Reighreen…rinereen…renty!"

"Okay, well, your…uh…number crunching is going to have to wait. We've got a case."

"Not another one!" moaned Shaggy. "Where now? A witch in Westminster? A mummy in Mumbai? A demon in D.C.?"

"A lizard-man in South Carolina," replied Velma matter-of-factly, missing Shaggy's palpable sarcasm. Scooby howled sadly.

So as the Mystery Machine bounded down the road towards South Carolina, Velma filled the gang (minus Shaggy and Scooby, who were in the backseat trying very hard not to listen) in on the situation.

"I did some research last night and found that, for decades, this area has been haunted by a mysterious lizard-man. It shows up every couple of years, attacks a few people and then vanishes without a trace."

"Jeepers," Daphne shuddered. "That's t-terrifying!"

"But why now?" Fred interjected, steering the van down Main Street towards the Lee County sheriff's office. "Especially if it's been showing up for years…"


	3. The Lizard's Tale

The dark-haired sheriff looked up from his desk as Mystery Incorporated entered the room. He wore a brown sweater with a bronze star-shaped badge pinned to the front and his chin was decorated with a day's worth of stubble. A golden nameplate on his desk identified him as Sheriff Liam Butcher.

"May I help you?" he asked, his voice rough and husky from a lingering cough.

"Yeah, we're Mystery Incorporated," Fred replied. "We received a call about a lizard-man terrorizing a swamp near here and we've come to help."

The sheriff's face contorted into a grimace. "That ol' bunch of hooey? Listen, I don't know who called you here, but —"

"**I** called them here," came a voice from outside as a tall grey-haired man wearing a thin grey jacket and black jeans entered the room. His upper lip sported a small mustache, the result of a few days of not shaving.

"Truesdale…" Sheriff Liam growled, his dark eyes narrowing at the intruder.

"After those kids got attacked over there off the old state road, you were determined to sweep it under the rug," the man known as Truesdale accused. "I couldn't let that happen…not again."

"They said they were attacked by a monster!" Liam shouted. "What kind of a laughingstock would I be if I sent my deputies out looking for…for a lizard-man?"

Truesdale fixed Liam with a cold steely glare. "The same laughingstock I was all those years ago," he spat, turning on his heel and marching out the door.

Mystery Incorporated watched Truesdale go before turning to Sheriff Liam. "What was he talking about, sheriff?" Velma asked.

Liam massaged his forehead with his forefinger. "Ugh, I was truly hoping to never have to deal with this, and yet…here we are. "

"Deal with what?" Fred echoed.

Liam sighed before launching into his tale:

"Years ago, 'round about the mid-eighties, there was this kid by the name of Chris Davis. He said he was attacked by a lizard-man while he was changing his tire on that old state road over by the swamp. This set off a whole spate of creature sightings. Of course, Sheriff Truesdale tried to make sense of the whole thing, but lizard-man fever had gripped the county.

"People went into the swamp and tried to flush the beast out. Reports of lizard-man attacks were coming in almost daily, and then…nothing. The hysteria stopped just as quickly as it started. Still, Trusdale keeps searching for the beast and jumps at every chance to find the truth.

"Truth of the matter is that it's just a fake, a hoax made up to attract tourism and draw in the gullible for the sake of a quick buck. And as long as no one's getting hurt, I'm not going to bother." The sheriff stretched out and put his feet up on the desk, revealing brown boots caked with dried mud. "I'm certainly sorry you kids had to drive all this way for nothing. But have a safe drive back!" His tone left no room for argument and signified that the conversation was over.


	4. Splitting Up

"We're **not** heading back," Velma said once they were inside the Mystery Machine. "That sheriff isn't telling us the whole story."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Fred, putting the van in gear and driving away. "I want to check out that swamp for myself."

"Fred, wait," Velma said, pointing. "There's a library over there...might be as good a place as any to start. Why don't you drop us off here and we can do some research?"

"And talk to Truesdale as well," finished Daphne.

Fred let Daphne and Velma out at the library's entrace before heading off to begin investigating, as the ever-cowardly Shaggy and Scooby's protests fell on deaf ears.

"Okay, we're here," Fred announced as the Mystery Machine screeched to a halt on the old state road by the swamp. "Let's split up. I'll search along the road, while you two check out in the swamp."

"Like, do we have to?" Shaggy whined. "It's like dark and spooky in there."

Fred took a box of Scooby Snacks from the van and shook them gently. "How about for three Scooby Snacks apiece?"

"Ruh uh!" Scooby barked. "Rour racks!"

"Four snacks?" Fred translated. "You drive a hard bargain, but…" He emptied the snacks into his hand and tossed them towards the duo. "Go long!" Shaggy and Scooby caught the snacks in their mouths and headed off into the swamp.

"Man, it's dark in here, Scooby-Doo," Shaggy remarked. "Stay close to me." Scooby leaped onto Shaggy's back. "Like, not that close."

"Rorry," Scooby barked apologetically, climbing off Shaggy and padding alongside him instead.


	5. Terror in the Swamp

As the sun sank slowly over the horizon, Scooby and Shaggy approached the rotted-out skeleton of what was once an old plantation. Portions of the façade had rotted through, littering the ground outside with chucks of brick-and-mortar. The steps that led to the front porch had been worn through, becoming a home for all sorts of creatures. Slumbering bats hung upside down from the edge of the roof, waking and flying off as the dog-and-detective duo approached.

"Like, zoinks," Shaggy gulped, waving his flashlight amid the wreckage. "Like, uber-creepsville. Are you sure there's, like, food here, Scoob?" He carefully crept up the rotted stairs after the sniffing hound.

"Ruh huh!" barked Scooby, pointing his body like an arrow. "Rollow re!" They crept past the broken-down, termite-infested columns to enter the plantation.

Once inside, Shaggy surveyed their surrounding, playing the flashlight around the plantation's main hallway. The roof had collapsed at some point, sending the crystal chandelier crashing to the floor. Hungry termite jaws had caused many of the floorboards to collapse, causing yawning chasms waiting to swallow the unwary and send them on an express trip into absolute darkness. Scooby, sniffing like mad, skirted around the gaping holes and entered the living room.

The living room had been frozen in time, as if everyone in the house had vanished instantly. Two plush red chairs, spilling stuffing from their seams, sat motionless in the center of the room. A leather-bound book lay facedown on the arm of one chair, as if the owner would be back momentarily to finish it. The coffee table held the remnants of a maggot-infested lunch, as well as a pair of cracked bifocals.

"Scoob…kitchen…like, now?" Shaggy asked nervously.

Scooby looked up from his sniffing. "Rhalmost rhere!"

At last, the dog-and-detective duo entered the kitchen, which was just as run-down and ramshackle as the rest of the house. Wooden cabinets, splintered and cracked, dangled precariously on rusty hinges. On a wooden counter stood a splintered cutting board containing a sharp, rusty knife impaling a block of moldy cheese.

"Ritchen!" Scooby yipped happily.

"Like, good work, ol' buddy," Shaggy said, giving his faithful hound a scratch behind the ears. "Now to find the grub." He pulled open a few cabinets and found nothing but cobwebs and dust. "Hey, like, what's this?" With a mighty tug, he pulled on a stuck handle. "Like, it's stuck." Scooby grabbed Shaggy by the waist to help him pull. Finally, the stuck cabinet opened, sending the pair flying backwards.

"Rook, Raggy!" Scooby barked once he'd recovered. "Rigerator!"

Indeed, the stuck cabinet was a refrigerator in disguise! Shaggy picked himself up off the floor to examine it. "But, like, this old house must be, like, hundreds of years old! What's a refrigerator doing here?"

Not one to look gift food in the mouth, the hungry duo quickly emptied the fridge of its meager contents. But as they ate, they were interrupted by a mysterious hissing sound.

Shaggy looked up from his plate. "Like, Scoob, did you hear that?"

"Rear rhat?" Scooby asked, polishing off a chicken leg and tossing the bone behind him.

"Heh heh…uh, nothing," Shaggy stammered. "Must've been, like, the wind."

But the hissing grew louder as the lizard-man suddenly crashed into the kitchen! It stood over seven-feet tall, its scaly skin a dull green. A long tail, riddled with spikes, dragged heavily on the floor. A long forked tongue whisked in and out between razor-sharp fangs. The hideous reptile grabbed Shaggy in its grip, wickedly sharp claws tearing into Shaggy's shirt. With an angry snarl, the beast hissed at Scooby before vanishing into the darkness with his prisoner in tow.

"Raggy?! RRRAAAAGGGYYYY!?" Scooby called desperately as he raced after his friend. Shaggy's cries for help echoed throughout the swamp, making it impossible to discern where they were coming from. "RRRAAAGGGYY?!" But at last, the cries ceased and Scooby was lost. With a mournful howl, he flopped onto the swampy ground and sobbed pitifully.


	6. A Legacy of Lies

Fred, armed with a dim flashlight, carefully strode along the old state road. Deep cracks rumbled through the asphalt, making walking rather difficult. The yellow guidelines had almost vanished completely; only a few chips of paint remained on the road.

As he walked, the flashlight's beam illuminated a two-story, slightly run-down house.

He strode up the creaky wooden steps to the weed-choked front porch. A hand-scrawled sign instructed to knock, as the doorbell was broken. Fred pulled open the torn screen door and rapped sharply on the splintery wood. Within minutes, the door creaked open slowly to reveal a lanky, dark-skinned man wearing a white-t-shirt and jeans.

"Can I help you?" he asked cautiously.

Fred stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Fred Jones of Mystery Incorporated, investigating the appearance of the lizard-man that's been plaguing the swamp."

The man's eyes widened. "Come on in," he whispered.

As Fred entered the house, a shrill voice emanated from the other room. "Wilson? Who was that at the door?"

"No one, mama," Wilson lied quickly, silently motioning Fred into the living room. "Just sellin' some junk. Nothin' we needed."

"All right, son," Wilson's mother called back. "I'm gon' head to bingo now. Try not to wake your father." In the living room, Fred heard the sound of heels on tile emanating from the room before the sound of a door slam and an engine revving off into the night.

Wilson sighed in relief and padded into the living room. "Well, that was close. Anyway, you want to find out more about the lizard-man." It wasn't a question. "I wish you all would leave the creature well enough alone. It ruined my life, y'know."

"Ruined your life?" echoed Fred. "How?"

Wilson sighed. "Well, better you find out sooner than later. I'm Wilson Davis. My dad, Chris Davis, was the first one to ever see the lizard-man."

You mean?"

"Yes. He tells the story all the time. It's almost like an obsession. That's why we moved out here; he thinks he's going to catch the lizard-man once and for all and prove he was right. I can't tell you how many days I've been dragged through this swamp because my dad swore he saw the lizard-man out his bedroom window. I know every inch of this murky old wasteland now, thanks to all his stupid midnight jaunts."

"Do you believe in the lizard-man?" asked Fred.

Wilson laughed mirthlessly. "Before, I'd have said no. But I've seen glimpses of things in the swamp, things that I've never seen in any book. We've followed tracks that science can't explain, noises that sound nothing like any animal in existence. The lizard-man is real. If you don't believe me, then…well, just continue your snooping." Fred rolled his eyes. "You'll find out soon enough…hopefully before the creature finds you when it's hungry…now, I'd suggest you get out of here before it gets any darker. These old roads are treacherous at night."

As Fred exited the Davis house, he was suddenly bowled over by a howling brown shape sprinting from the swamp. "Whoa! Whoa! Hold on, now Scoob!" Fred exclaimed, struggling to his feet. "What's with you? And where's Shaggy?"

"Raggy…ridrapped…rizard….RELP!" Scooby barked hurriedly. "Rollow re!" With his tail, he gestured frantically towards the swamp.

"Shaggy was kidnapped by the lizard-man?" Fred translated. He dashed into the swamp with Scooby.


	7. Research Ruckus

As Fred and Scooby combed the swamp for Shaggy, Velma and Daphne combed through the small library for any mention of the lizard-man.

"It seems they're absolutely determined to sweep this lizard creep under the rug," Velma remarked, taking the top book from her stack and cracking it open with a spray of dust.

In the corner, Daphne twisted the zoom knob on the microfiche reader to get a closer look at a date. "Except for one article, there hasn't been any mention of the beast."

"It's a shame," came a voice, causing the two girls to jump. "Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you all." Velma looked up into the warm gray eyes of Truesdale as he approached. "Just being nosy. Hard habit to break."

"It's fine, sir," said Velma, placing her thumb in the book and straightening up slightly. "Just trying to sniff out the truth."

"I wish you kids better luck than I had." Truesdale placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the table strewn with open books and papers scribbled with notes. "Where are your other friends and their dog?"

Daphne frowned. "They went to check out things in the swamp…they should have called by now…shouldn't they?"

"They're in the swamp?" Truesdale echoed. "That's not good. Lizard-man or not, the swamp has a nasty habit of swallowing the unwary. Can I give you ladies a lift to the swamp?"

Velma and Daphne exchanged 'stranger danger' glances, but their concern for their friends outweighed any fears they had. "Let's go," Velma said at last.


	8. Clues and Curses

Fred aimed his flashlight up the plantation's ramshackle staircase. "SHAGGY!" he called, sweeping the beam of his flashlight along the splintered, rotted wood. Suddenly, a small sparkle caught the flashlight beam. "Hey, what's this?" He bent down to pick up the object, a bent and tarnished star-shaped badge. The engraving had long since worn away; the fastener was bent out at an odd angle, rendering it useless. "Hmmm…" He pocketed it and continued his search.

Leaving the plantation, Fred crept through a small copse of gnarled and twisted trees in the swamp. "SHAGGY? SHAGGY?" The beam of his flashlight illuminated a piece of paper, impaled on a branch, fluttering helplessly in the breeze. With a little difficulty, the blonde sleuth managed to clamber up the tree to rescue the paper.

After shinnying down the tree, he examined the piece of paper. "Hmmm…it's hard to read…" he murmured to himself. "Especially with all these black streaks…but…it looks like a map of the area...but I wonder what these shaded areas mean…"

Alone, Scooby sniffed desperately along a swampy trail in the pitch darkness, struggling futilely to pick up his owner's scent. "RAGGY? RAGGY?" Suddenly, Scooby caught a faint whiff of Shaggy's favorite cheesy puffs. "Raggy!" With a triumphant yip, Scooby set out on the trail. After a few minutes of following the faint scent, Scooby accidentally ran into a tree root that had grown across the path.

Scooby sadly rubbed his aching muzzle before glaring angrily at the root that blocked his way. Suddenly, the root moved, and Scooby found himself looking up into the glowing red eyes of the lizard-man. "RIPE!" Scooby yipped, taking off into the swamp with the vicious reptile snarling after him!

As Fred studied the map, a howl echoed in the distance, causing him to jump. "Wolf?" Fred murmured to himself.

Suddenly Scooby, yelping and howling in fright, sped out of the swamp with the lizard-man hot on his tail.

Fred gave chase, racing after the scaled beast.

After a harrowing chase through the swamp (backed by off-key sixties pop music) Fred managed to trip the creature up by some protruding roots, causing him to stumble. As Scooby cautiously approached the downed creature, Fred grabbed some vines from the swamp and used them to tie up the lizard-man. "And now for the unmasking." He reached up and snatched off the creature's face.


	9. The Mystery is Revealed!

"It's Liam Butcher!" Fred gasped in shock. "I thought it was Truesdale for sure!"

A beat-up gray car drove up to the scene and Velma, Daphne and Truesdale exited. "So you caught the lizard-man…without us?" Velma asked. "Impressive."

"But where's Shaggy?" Daphne asked. Scooby wailed sadly in answer.

Truesdale shook his head in bemusement. "Liam, you old, snake, you. It was you the whole time, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Liam snarled, struggling against his bonds. "And I could'a gotten away with it, too. If not for these meddling kids!"

"But why?" asked Truesdale.

"Why d'you think?" Liam spat. "Do you all have any idea how much oil is under this old swamp? Enough to set me up for life! But I had to scare everyone away first! So every time some snoopers came around, the 'lizard-man' took care of them real quick."

"Rhere's ry Raggy?!" Scooby demanded angrily.

Liam laughed bitterly. "You think I'm just going to tell you where that lanky fool is? It's a big, vast swamp out there; you could look for days, maybe even weeks. But you'll never find your precious 'Raggy.'"

"All right, that's enough out of you, pal," Truesdale interjected. "We'll send out a search party for your friend…just as soon as I get this reptile in its cage."

"So long, Mystery Incorporated," taunted Liam as Truesdale dragged him away. "It hasn't been a pleasure."


	10. The Search for Shaggy

"I can't believe you unmasked the creature without us," Velma muttered angrily.

"Sorry...it just...kind of happened..." Velma continued to glare at him. "Tell you what, you can unmask the next criminal. But right now, we have to find Shaggy!"

The gang, joined by Wilson and Truesdale, crept through the swamp, calling desperately for Shaggy, until exhaustion and the coming twilight forced them to stop.

"Well, I'm not sure what to tell you," Truesdale sighed unhappily. "You're welcome to stay for the night and try again in the morning. I'll work on Butcher and see if he'll talk, but it's not likely."

As the gang sadly headed to the Mystery Machine, Scooby howled piteously. "I know, Scooby," Daphne said comfortingly, giving his head a gentle pat. "You miss him. We all do."

"I know what might help," Velma replied, pulling out a box of Scooby Snacks. "Go long!" She tossed a pair of snacks out, but Scooby only stared forlornly at them as they landed in the grass with a muffled thump.

"Shhh. Let him be," Fred cautioned, unlocking the Mystery Machine and settling into the driver's seat. Velma and Daphne followed suit and Scooby slowly padded into the backseat. "Let's try to get some sleep and we'll look again in the morning."

As the sun dipped slowly below the horizon, the gang dozed fitfully, tossing and turning inside the Mystery Machine. "Raggy…Raggy…" Scooby mumbled in his sleep as his legs windmilled though the air as though he was chasing after something.

As dawn finally broke over the swamp, a loud thump echoed on the side of the Mystery Machine, causing the gang to jerk awake! Fred fumbled drowsily for the door handle and tumbled out of the van. The rest of the gang quickly exited to find Shaggy banging on the side of the Mystery Machine!

Scooby quickly pounced on his owner, giving him an impromptu bath of joyful doggy kisses. "Okay, okay, Scoob! I missed you, too, buddy."

"Where were you?" asked Velma. "And how did you escape!"

Shaggy finally managed to clamber to his feet and wipe off most of the drool from his face. "Well, it was the strangest thing. I was knocked out cold by that lizard-man and tied to a chair in an upstairs room of that plantation. And as I was drifting in and out of consciousness, all I can remember is seeing the lizard-man untie me, pick me up and…well, the next thing I knew I was here."

Fred frowned. "The lizard-man brought you here? Just now? But that's impossible. He's been locked up for at least a day."

Daphne's eyes widened. "Unless…"

"You don't think…" Velma began. "That means…jinkies…"

Fred shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Well, whatever it was, Shaggy's safe. That's all that matters." As the gang clambered into the Mystery Machine and drove away, a pair of reptillian eyes watched them go before vanishing into the swamp.


End file.
